Sarah
After Saul died, David didn’t just sit around wondering what to do. The first thing he did was ask the Lord:
“God, should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?”
The Lord said, “Yes.”
David asked again:
“Then where should I go?”
The Lord said, “Go to Hebron.”
David thought, “Alright then, I’ll do what God says.”
So David took his men, along with their families, and they all went up to Hebron.
Before long, the men of Judah came to Hebron. There, they anointed David and made him king over the tribe of Judah.
Then somebody came and told David:
“King David, there’s something you should know. The people of Jabesh Gilead buried Saul.”
David was deeply moved when he heard that.
He immediately sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead and said:
“You treated Saul with great kindness. Even after he died, you gave him a proper burial. May the Lord bless you!
Since you showed such loyalty, I won’t forget what you’ve done. I will also show kindness to you.
Saul is gone now, but the people of Judah have anointed me as their king. So don’t be afraid. As long as I have food on my table, you won’t be forgotten!”
So on one side, David had become king over Judah.
But on the other side, things were getting complicated.
Saul’s army commander was a man named Abner, the son of Ner.
Abner took Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth, crossed the Jordan River, and came to Mahanaim.
Then Abner put Ish-Bosheth on the throne and said:
“You’re going to be king over Israel.”
Ish-Bosheth then ruled over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and the rest of Israel.
Ish-Bosheth was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled for two years.
But the people of Judah followed David.
So now Israel basically had two kings.
On one side was David, ruling over Judah.
On the other side was Ish-Bosheth, ruling over the rest of Israel.
David ruled over Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months.
One day, Abner took the army of Israel and went from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
David’s men came out too, led by Joab, the son of Zeruiah.
The two groups met beside the pool of Gibeon, with one army sitting on one side and the other army sitting on the other.
Neither side wanted to back down.
Then Abner suddenly said:
“Why don’t we let some of the young men come out and have a little contest?”
Joab said:
“Alright, let’s do it.”
So each side sent out twelve young men.
At first, everybody probably thought it was just going to be a little competition.
But things got ugly real quick.
Each man grabbed his opponent by the head and stabbed him in the side with his sword.
All twelve men on each side fell dead.
That’s why the place was called Helkath Hazzurim, meaning something like “Field of Swords.”
After that, the whole thing turned into a serious battle.
The fighting became fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s men.
Then Saul’s son Asahel came running after Abner.
Asahel was incredibly fast—he could run like a wild deer.
He locked onto Abner and chased him nonstop.
Abner looked back and asked:
“Are you Asahel?”
Asahel answered:
“Yes, I am.”
Abner told him:
“Don’t chase me anymore. Go after somebody else. Grab one of the young men and take his armor. Just leave me alone.”
But Asahel wouldn’t listen.
He kept chasing Abner.
Abner warned him again:
“Stop chasing me! Don’t make me kill you.
If I kill you, how am I ever going to face your brother Joab?”
But Asahel still wouldn’t stop.
Finally, Abner had no choice.
He suddenly turned around and struck Asahel with the back end of his spear.
The spear went into Asahel’s stomach and came out the other side.
Asahel fell down and died right there.
When the soldiers arrived at the place where Asahel had fallen, they all stopped.
But Joab and Abishai weren’t ready to quit.
They kept chasing Abner until the sun was going down.
When they reached the hill near the wilderness, the men of Benjamin gathered together and formed a group behind Abner.
Abner finally shouted to Joab:
“Joab! How long are we going to keep doing this?
Are we really going to keep killing each other forever?
Don’t you realize this is only going to end in bitterness and pain?
How long are you going to keep chasing your own brothers?
We’re all Israelites. We’re fighting our own people!”
Joab answered:
“I swear before the living God, if you hadn’t said that, our men would have kept chasing their brothers until morning.”
Then Joab blew the trumpet.
The fighting finally stopped.
Abner and his men traveled through the night, crossed the Jordan River, went through Bithron, and finally returned to Mahanaim.
Joab and his men also traveled all night and reached Hebron at dawn.
When they counted their men, they discovered that nineteen of David’s men, plus Asahel, were missing.
But David’s men had also killed 360 men from Benjamin and Abner’s army.
Later, they took Asahel’s body and buried him in the tomb of his father in Bethlehem.
Then Joab and his men returned to Hebron.
And David continued to rule as king over Judah.
But this was only the beginning.
The struggle between David’s house and Saul’s house was just getting started.